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Joe Young, communications associate at the Louisiana Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, recommends preparing a pet-evacuation kit, including paperwork. He said records are especially important.

"If you're going out of town and you want to board your pet when you get there. For example, they are going to require vaccination records," Young said. "And it might be really difficult in the event of a hurricane to get those faxed or emailed over from your vet here in New Orleans."

As for pet supplies, including pet medication, Young said it's important to plan.

"More food than you need, more water than you're going to need, and, especially if you have cats, make sure you have cat litter. And another big thing people don't think about is cleaning supplies. A lot of our pets don't travel in the car a lot. And when they do, they might get sick, or they might not do as well as we're hoping they will," he said.

Implanting a microchip on your pet, Young said, is one of the best ways to ensure that you're reunited with a runaway.

Keep in mind that LASPCA and area shelters do not board pets during evacuations.

"If you do need city-assisted evacuation, pets are included in that plan. But you're (going to) want to register with the city of New Orleans ahead of time. You can dial 311 to do that,"Young said.

"I wanna make sure he's comfortable like we're comfortable," said Johnson. "And trust me, I would never leave them behind because Katrina taught me everything."

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